5.56 Military brass

[texastonk]

I found several rounds of 5.56 brass that my father acquired.
The brass is Lake City. I know lake City used to or still does make ammo for the armed services. What I would like to know is the brass quality? Is Lake City a reputable manufacturer? Would it be ok to sell?
The lot #on the brass is LC 84.

Thanks

 

[CardiacKid]

Re: 5.56 Military brass

Yes, we are still shooting LC brass (it's the only headstamp I've ever seen although my time in service is much less than some of the guys here). It's good brass - the only caveat I've heard is that it's a little thicker so you should work your charges up a little on the lower side when starting if reloading. I use a lot of salvaged range brass on my .223 reloads for 3-gun and have several LC cases with older dates (late 80s and early 90s) that have no issues.

 

[MinorDamage]

Re: 5.56 Military brass

LC is great stuff. It is the only thing I use for .223 anymore.

Josh

 

[aquinas]

Re: 5.56 Military brass

LC is very hard brass. It is made that way to stand up to abuse dished out by autoloaders. It is the correct brass for M14's and M16's. That said, it's reputation as great brass is overinflated.

It has a reputation as great brass because it is the correct brass for many U.S. military arms. From a reloading standpoint, it's not all that great.

When I size winchester brass, I can size it to basically all the exact same size. There is hardly .001 variation in cartridge headspace dimension.

With LC, it sizes all over the place. I get .004 variation easily from case to case. In many instances, It has to be sized twice to get any noticeable shoulder setback.

Shows up on the target and in chrony velocity as well. It's not as consistent.

Now, this may be caused by the fact that LC is formed under much higher pressure than we use in a home reloading die. I don't know how it's done at the factory.

 

[texastonk]

Re: 5.56 Military brass

thanks for the info everyone.

 

[EddieNFL]

Re: 5.56 Military brass

Some of the older LC I've used was so-so, but everything for mid-80's up has been really good. With a bolt gun, I was able to get slightly better groups with BHA match and W-W. For gas guns, it's hard to beat.

As I have M548 cans full of the stuff, I won't be switching brands anytime soon.

 

[BCP]

Re: 5.56 Military brass

I use the hell out of LC brass. It's not as accurate as win but it lasts lots longer. IIRC LC223 weighs about like RP or PMC while the LC308 is like Fed.

 

[USMARINE1108]

Re: 5.56 Military brass

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: CardiacKid</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Yes, we are still shooting LC brass (it's the only headstamp I've ever seen although my time in service is much less than some of the guys here). It's good brass - the only caveat I've heard is that it's a little thicker so you should work your charges up a little on the lower side when starting if reloading. I use a lot of salvaged range brass on my .223 reloads for 3-gun and have several LC cases with older dates (late 80s and early 90s) that have no issues. </div></div>

LC 556 brass is not thicker. The LC 30-06 and 762 brass is thicker resulting in less case volume. That is not the case with LC 556.

I've had great results with LC 556 brass but it helps to stay with same year stamps.

 

[CardiacKid]

Re: 5.56 Military brass

Thanks for clearing that up - the loads I was looking at data for were for .308 so that makes sense (especially when you look at the average case weights for LC versus Winchester for instance). Didn't know the 5.56 cases were the same as everyone else.

 

[flyrodder]

Re: 5.56 Military brass

Be prepared to have to remove the primer crimp on military brass. The Dillon Super Swage is pretty handy and very solid, but a bit pricey.

http://www.dillonprecision.com/content/p/9/pid/25263/catid/8/Super_Swage_600

 

[svencool]

Re: 5.56 Military brass

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: flyrodder</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Be prepared to have to remove the primer crimp on military brass. The Dillon Super Swage is pretty handy and very solid, but a bit pricey.

http://www.dillonprecision.com/content/p/9/pid/25263/catid/8/Super_Swage_600
</div></div>

I just invested in one and it's sweeeeeeeet very easy to use!!!!

 

[wrhunter]

Re: 5.56 Military brass



LC 556 brass is not thicker. The LC 30-06 and 762 brass is thicker resulting in less case volume. That is not the case with LC 556.



+1 FWIW I have found Hornady once fired TAP brass to be a bit smaller (internal volume) as identical loads caused flat primers in the Hornady brass and no pressure signs in the LC brass.